Pasadena open for condom-less porn shoots

PASADENA - After first saying porn productions in town would have to abide by the county's Measure B - requiring the use of condoms - city officials Thursday did an about face.

Actors shooting adult films in Pasadena will not be covered by the law, and thus not covered, city spokesman William Boyer said.

"Pasadena currently does not have any specific health or filming regulations that require the use of condoms in films," Boyer said. "Pasadena does allow permitted adult entertainment filming as it can't restrict it under the First Amendment."

On Wednesday, Boyer, speaking on behalf of city officials, said the opposite.

Measure B requires producers to undergo training on blood-borne pathogens and submit an "exposure control plan," then pay for a public health permit.

Permit fees will be used to pay for enforcement, according to creators of the law.

Condom use on porn sets already is required under state and city laws. But those are rarely enforced, with state inspections and consequent fines based only on complaints.

Pasadena could write its own ordinance requiring condoms on set, but officials said there are no plans to do so at the present time.

City officials said the last adult film shot in Pasadena was shot by Califa Productions, a house known for music videos. Boyer could not provide the name of the production or the location where it was shot.

In 2010, a Playboy TV producer pulled a permit to shoot an unknown film at an unknown location, Boyer said.

Two permits for adult productions were pulled in 2012, but both were cancelled, Boyer said.

"Pasadena should opt to enforce the condom requirement," City Councilman Terry Tornek said. "I agree with the ordinance. I see it as a public health issue and a worker protection issue."

"If it's legal, it's legal," he said. "We have a history of knowing how to administer film permits. I don't see Pasadena becoming the porn capitol of California."

On Wednesday, the Free Speech Coalition, a trade group representing the adult entertainment industry, said it plans to file a lawsuit to overturn the condom requirement on constitutional grounds.

"We believe in the calm, serious deliberations of the legal system, we will find that Measure B is in fact unconstitutional," Diane Duke, the coalition's executive director, said in a statement. "The adult film industry will not just stand by and let it destroy our business."

In a letter sent to the county Board of Supervisors, the industry also requested that it be involved in discussions as to how the county will implement the requirements. It will also explore moves to neighboring states as soon as possible, the coalition said.

"While the AIDS Healthcare Foundation has tried to portray any move of jobs outside of L.A. County as unrealistic, the hard truth of the matter is that is exactly what this industry plans on doing now," said James Lee, communications director for the No on Government Waste Committee, which opposed the measure.